Southeastern NEWS
Southeastern Louisiana University
Public Information Office
publicinfo@selu.edu
SLU 880, Hammond, LA 70402
985-549-2341/fax 985-549-2061
Date: 9/19/01
Contact: Christina Chapple 52-O
JAMES EARL JONES, SONDHEIM MUSICAL, JAZZ DOWNTOWN HIGHLIGHT
FANFARE'S FIRST WEEK
HAMMOND -- World-renowned actor James Earl Jones, a sparkling musical revue, and
a mini-jazz fest under the stars will usher in the 16th season of Fanfare, Southeastern Louisiana
University's fall celebration of the arts, humanities and sciences.
Fanfare's "Sweet Sixteen" season of theater, art, music, jazz, films, dance, lectures, and
community events begins Friday, September 28, with the Brown Bag Concert at noon in
downtown Hammond's Cate Square. The traditional festival kickoff will feature the Southeastern
Jazz Lions, a jazz group conducted by Southeastern's new director of jazz studies, saxophonist
Farrell Vernon.
"Bring your lawn chairs or blankets, pack a picnic, and join us for a relaxing, sociable and
musical lunch time," said Donna Gay Anderson, Fanfare's artistic director.
That evening, the action will continue in Cate Square when Fanfare will join Hammond
radio station KAJUN 107.1 as the station hosts the local edition of the world's biggest country
music talent showcase, the True Value Country Showdown the contest that launched Garth
Brooks. The event will begin with a country music street dance at 8 p.m., while at 9 p.m., six
country acts will compete for the local Showdown title and the chance to advance to state and
national finals.
The first of nine Fanfare 2001 films, including four foreign flicks and four cinema
classics, will be shown at 7 p.m., Monday, October 1 at the Palace Theatre on J.W. Davis Drive.
The free feature film will be the acclaimed "Snow Falling on Cedars," an elegiac,
multi-layered exploration of memory, love and reconciliation set in 1950 on an island in the
Pacific Northwest.
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FANFARE WEEK ONE Add One
The Southeastern University Center will be setting for the much anticipated appearance
by Fanfare 2001 headliner James Earl Jones. In a dynamic speech, the golden-voiced actor, who
has graced the stage, silver screen, and television for decades, will explore the past and the
present, examining how local, national and global cultures shape our lives, and how we, in turn,
shape and reshape the worlds we inhabit.
Jones' lecture -- "The Culture Quest: How Culture Affects Us and How we Affect
Culture" -- is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, October 3. Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for
senior citizens, Southeastern faculty, staff and alumni and $5 for non-Southeastern students.
Admission is free for Southeastern students.
Earlier on October 3, two Fanfare art exhibits will open with artists' receptions from 4-
6 p.m. The university's annual alumni exhibition, displaying the works of alumni such as Don
Wright, Luz Maria Lyles, Chris Maconi and Fernanda Christiani, will hang in Sims Memorial
Library. Clark Hall Gallery will host "My World: Reconstruction Reality," featuring the cutting
edge works of photographers and digital artists Robert Parke Harrison, Maggie Taylor an James
Nakagawa. The exhibits will be on display through October 31.
The Southeastern Opera-Music Theatre Program, always a popular Fanfare attraction,
will stage "Putting it Together," Broadway great Stephen Sondheim's unique and inventive
musical revue, October 4-6 at Pottle Music Building Auditorium.
In "Putting it Together," five people at a Manhattan party weave together classic songs
from every score the legendary Sondheim has ever written, creating an intimate, insightful, often
hilarious and moving portrait of contemporary society.
Curtain time for "Putting it Together" is 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for
senior citizens, Southeastern faculty, staff and alumni and non-Southeastern students.
Southeastern students are admitted free with their university I.D.
Saturday, October 6 is the date for Fanfare's popular Gallery Stroll in downtown
Hammond, which climaxes that evening with Jazz Downtown, featuring the Charmaine Neville
Band and Johnny Angel and the Swinging Demons.
Beginning at 10 a.m., jazz brunches will be offered at downtown restaurants and the city
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FANFARE WEEK ONE Add Two
historic district's stores, restaurants and offices will display the talents of area artists. There also
will be live music and special activities for children. Music starts on the Jazz Downtown stage in
front of AmSouth Bank on NW Railroad Ave. at 6 p.m.
The annual Hungarian Settlement Celebration will again partner with Fanfare on
Saturday, Oct. 6. The annual festival, held at the American Legion Hall on Hwy. 43 near
Springfield, highlights the strong and colorful Hungarian heritage of the Livingston Parish
community of Hungarian Settlement. The festival begins with a Hungarian dinner from noon to 2
p.m. Other foods will be served throughout the afternoon and evenings. Hungarian music begins
at noon and will continue into the evening, with a performance by the Baton Rouge International
Folk Dancers at 7 p.m., and the Hungarian Harvest Dance at 8 p.m. Dinner tickets are $7, while
advance tickets for the Harvest dance are $10 (ages 13 and older) and $5 (ages seven-12). Dance
tickets will be $15 at the door. Admission is free for children under seven. For additional
information about the festival, contact Jim King at 225-567-9670.
Special rates for Fanfare events are available for groups of 10 or more and must be
purchased in advance with cash, one check or one credit card.
For a Fanfare brochure and ticket order form or for additional information about Fanfare
events, call the SLU Public Information Office, 985-549-2341, or email publicinfo@selu.edu.
Fanfare information is available online at www.selu.edu/fanfare. Fanfare tickets are available at
Gate 1 of the SLU University Center on University Ave., 985-549-2323.
-SLU-
Press release available online at www.selu.edu/NewsEvents/PublicInfoOffice/newsf01.htm